2013 General Relief Society Meeting

To watch, listen, or download any portion of the 2013 General Relief Society Meeting, please click HERE.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Derek and Char Ames on the birth of their baby boy, Gunner Busenbark Ames. He was born Wednesday, September 25th weighing 8lb 7oz and measuring 21 inches long.

Spotlight: Gail Luke

Gail Luke:
I was born in Cedar City, raised down the street in Washington.  I graduated from Pine View High School, attended Dixie College, was a travel agent and married my High School sweetheart 3 months after he returned from his mission.  For two years we ventured out to Phoenix, Arizona and Henderson, Nevada, and realized there are hotter places to live in this country, so I was pretty happy to move back.  We lived in the Red Cliffs area for 13 years.  We have been married 18 years and have 5 children:  Drew 17, Hunter & Carter 12, Abigail 9, Preston 6.
I enjoy cooking, baking, camping, boating, repelling, hiking, traveling, crafts, digital scraping, photography and jogging.
I enjoy reading books and watching movies about anything pre-18th century.
I'm a bit of an organization freak and a Jane Austen addict. My passion is Family History.

Spotlight: Anna Dupree

Anna Dupree:
Born and Raised:  Born in San Francisco, but moved at 6 weeks old.  My dad entered the Air Force, so I spent the rest of my childhood moving to and from Montana, England, New Hampshire, Hill AFB in Utah, and Phoenix.
Brought me to St. George:  We have been living in the South (MS, SC, Houston) for so long, we got used to the warm weather, but wanted to be back West, closer to family and mountains.  In the end, it was my husbands work.
College:  Got a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from The University Of Southern Mississippi.  (that is a mouthful).  Taught ballet and modern dance as an adjunct instructor at Kansas State, and San Jacinto Community College.  Then started, ran, and sold my own dance studio in Houston, TX (where we just moved from after living there for 5 years).
Husband (Jared) and I met in Phoenix, AZ.  He was a bug guy and I had just graduated from high school.  We met the very first time I ever attended a singles ward!  He invited me and friends over for games and we were together from that night on.  We were met an married in 6 months and have been married for 14 years this December.
Kids:  Sienna is 12, Bella is 8, Son Kai is 3, Baby Isla is 4 months.
Favorite things to do: go to a dance class, love to spend time with kids and husband, go hiking, travel, talk to my sisters on the phone, cook (when I'm in the mood), go to dinner, movies.
Something unique:  I love a good personal story.  I love to get to know people through listening to their stories.  I especially love the funny ones.  So, if you have a good one, come tell me!

Ballroom Dance Group

Sisters,
We are starting the next session of ballroom dance next week.  Our first class with be next Thursday Oct. 3rd at 7pm at the church.  If the gym is being used, we will go in the primary or RS room. You need to come to the first or second class to be in the session so you don't get too far behind. You also need to bring a partner and it doesn't have to be your husband.  We will be learning the triple swing and the foxtrot. Our first session was so fun (we learned cha cha and waltz) we would love for more people to join. I can't wait for more dancing!!!!
Call or text me with any questions!
Thanks,
Melanie Graff
435-313-4021

Spotlight: Jessica McCann

Jessica McCann:
Born and raised-
Jessica was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona.

Schooling and career-
Jessica attended school in Provo and graduated with her Master Esthetician's license.

How they met-
Brian and Jessica lived in the same apartments and in the same ward in Provo. They met at an FHE and Jessica invited him to come to dinner for her birthday. (He didn't come BTW!) Brian did call her up later to go on their first date which was at PF Chang's. After two years of dating( which is forever at BYU), they were finally married.

What brought them to St. George-
Brian is from St. George, so he and Jessica moved here right after they were married.

 Kids (names and ages)-
Jessica and Brian have two kids: Boston 2 1/2 and Cozette 6 months.

Hobbie and favorites-
Jessica loves to swim, wake-board, exercise, read, and especially being a mom.

Something unique about her-
Jessica didn't have a name until two weeks after she was born. Her mom thought for sure she was a boy and didn't have any girl names picked out.

Spotlight: Sue Cox

Sue Cox:
Born & raised? St. George never leaving, love the warmth, Utah.

Where did you go to college? Beauty School & Domestic Engineer :)
All I ever wanted to be was a Mom. :) How did you & your husband meet? Met at Dixie High School & are High School sweet hearts.

How long have you been together?  25 1/2 yrs.

What are the names & ages of your children? Jaden-23, Keairra-19, Cameron-14 & Zachary-10

What are your hobbies & favorite things to do? Riding bike, Keeping a clean home,  Creating &  beautifying,  Being my kids cheerleader for all their events.  Being with my family & time with Husband.

What us something unique about you? Prays for strangers &
 Turns trash into treasures.

Spotlight: Liliana Stone

Liliana Stone

Where were you born and raised-
Liliana moved around a lot as a child. She was born in San Diego, California where she lived until she was 9. Her family then moved to San Francisco but returned back to San Diego after about a year and a half. When she was 11 her family moved to Duck Creek Village where she instantly fell in love with Utah and small town life. After that they went Alton, Utah then onto Cedar City where her family lived in army tents while her father built a home. The house just didn't get built because of bad weather, so they moved into apartments in town until they moved once again. This time to Orderville, Utah where she graduated from high school. After high school, she worked at Zion Ponderosa and as an EMT-I on the ambulance to save money to go on a mission. She went to Scotland and love her many experiences there.

Schooling and career- Liliana went to Dixie State College when she got back from her mission. She got her CNA but didn't really like the medical field, so she decided to go back to school and got her certification to be a private teacher at Montessori. She worked at Dayspring Montessori until she got married.

How you met your husband-
Liliana and Gary met at their singles ward in St. George. They hung out as best friends for a couple of years before they started dating. Gary was really smart and a great planner of activities. He pursued her first but had kind of given up; however, when she left to California for a couple of months, she realized how much she missed him, how great he really was, and that she had actually fallen in love with him. She came back determined that he would never be out of her life again! They have now been married for 6 years.

Kids (names and ages)- Axel 5, Samara 4, Roman 2, Blaze 10 months

Hobbie and favorites- She loves dancing hula. It's a big part of her culture. She also adores traveling although it doesn't happen as much with kids. She enjoys cooking healthy food and creating new recipes.

Something unique about you-
The most unique thing about her is that she has two sides to her personality. She loves to get dirty outdoors in the dirt as well as get dressed up and being really girly. She can go out and change the oil on ATV's and cut trails with a chain saw through thick brush then get prettied up and go to a fancy dinner.

Spotlight: Nicole Frei

Nicole Frei 

Born and raised- Nicole was born and raised in Kaysville, Utah.

What brought her to St. George- Nicole moved to St. George about two and a half years ago with her husband. He grew up in Santa Clara and always insisted that they move back here after graduation. So, here they are!

Schooling and career- Nicole went to BYU and graduated with her bachelor's degree in communications. She also spent a semester at BYU-Hawaii. She is currently work for Dr. Jeff Erickson at his orthodontic practice. She helps with all of the new patients and is in charge of the marketing!

How she met her husband- Nicole met Blair while they were both attending BYU-Hawaii. Talk about a perfect place to meet the love of your life! They spent a lot of time together that Spring semester on the beaches of Hawaii, and the rest is history.

Kids (names and ages)- They don't have any kids yet!

Hobbie and favorites- Nicole loves to exercise: whether it's running, yoga, hiking, gym classes, etc. She enjoys playing and watching most sports. She also loves to dance and sing. Her favorite times are spent with her family. She also LOVES going on vacations!

Something unique about her- She lived in New York and worked at Dateline NBC as an intern! She said, "It was awesome!"

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Talea and Jeremy Hollingshead on the birth of their baby girl, Kennady Joy. Born Thursday, September 12th at 9:55 pm. 8 lbs 11 oz, 21.5 inches long.

Back to School Potluck Social This Thursday!

This Thursday, September 12th, we will be having a RS Back to School Potluck Social at 7pm. Bring a potluck to share and come visit with the great sisters in our ward! See you there!

Spotlight: Sarah Jimenez

Sarah Jimenez

Born and raised- Sarah was born in Provo, Utah.  She is the 2nd oldest of 7 children.  She and her family moved to Northern Cali when she was 2 and lived all over the state, mainly in Fairfield and Orange County.  Her dad does governement construction, so they moved a lot.  She also lived a while Missouri and Washington State.  Her family moved to Kanab when she was 10, and she lived there until she graduated high school at 16.

What brought you to St. George- Sarah has always loved St. George.  Being 90 minutes from Kanab, she came here all the time with friend, and knew this was where she wanted to be.  She had a 4 year full scholarship to SUU but decided to switch to Dixie at the last minute. Cody says it was because of him (he might be a little right, ha!)  She LOVES it here and never wants to leave.  She and Cody moved to Missouri for a year right after they were married, and they couldn't get back soon enough.

Schooling and career- Sarah received her Associate's Degree from Dixie College and her Bachelor's Degree from Utah State University in Psychology.  (She did their extension courses through Dixie).  She worked as a paralegal for 10 years.  When they started a family, she didn't want to work out of the home any more, so she taught herself Photoshop,  she and Cody (he's a computer programmer and web-designer) started up a graphic design business- FotoTale Designs.  She specializes in photoshop templates for photographers; Christmas cards, Baby Announcements, Album design, etc.  She loves it, and it keeps her really busy.

How you met your husband- Sarah and Cody met their last year in high school. They were both sterling scholars for their schools. (Sarah, Kanab and Cody, Milford).  The regional competition was at SUU.  Cody was in Science and Sarah was in Social Science.  They were both the first interviews of the day for their categories.  Their interview rooms were right next to each other. When they both showed up about 20 minutes early, they just got to talking and hit it off.  There was about 8 hours between their interviews and the awards dinner.  She had driven her car to Cedar and Cody had come on the bus.  He offered to be her friend that day (ha, funny story!)... and he's been her best friend ever since. ;)

Kids (names and ages)- Rylee- 7 and Ryan- 4

Hobbie and favorites- Sarah likes hiking, boating, crafting, scrapbooking, photography, baking, movies, books, hanging out with friends (She  LOVES girl's nights!), shopping and pedis with her daughter.

Something unique about you- About 2 years ago, she won the Big Deal on the TV game show Let's Make a Deal.  She won a BMW motorcycle and a trip to Rome!

Spotlight: Kathie Steinert

Kathie Lyn Mendoza Steinert
I was born in Montebello, Los Angeles, CA.  and raised in Mission Viejo, CA.  After being in southern California for 42 years, Scott and I decided it was time to make a change for our family.   St. George is absolutely gorgeous with an incredible environment and top notch schools.  We knew this is where we ultimately wanted to end up, but decided we shouldn't wait! So here we are, Scott, Josh 22, Nathan 15, Allie 11, Mark 10, myself, and our precious little Pomeranian, Mercedes.
After high school I attended Ricks College, currently BYU Idaho, then went to a trade school to become a medical secretary.  Later, I went back to school to become a massage therapist and practiced that for about 10 years.
Something I enjoy is photography; particularly taking pictures of flowers, they make me happy.  I really like walking around in Snow Canyon too!  I enjoy cooking and most of all basking in the warm sun.  I love to travel with my mom and sisters, which doesn't seem to happen as much as I'd like it too!!
A huge part of my life is football.  Josh has been playing for 14 years and naturally, I'm his biggest fan.  He's currently playing in Missouri and I'll be cheering him on each weekend.  I love my children more than anything, they are my biggest challenge and my greatest reward.

September Lesson Schedule

September Lesson Schedule:

Sept 1sth: Presidency Message – Diane Barlow

Sept 8th: #17 Priesthood – “For the Salvation of the Human                                  Family” – Kristen Thorne

Sept 15th: #18 Church Leadership and Selfless Service –

                                Carol Poulson

Sept 22nd: Conference Talk – Deon Wilson

Sept 29^th: Combined RS/Priesthood

Happy September Birthday To:

September Birthdays:

Sarah Jimenez ·2 ^nd  

Char Ames · 4^th

Clare Banks · 4^th

Lonni Clarke · 7^th

Edith Porter · 10^th

Kathy Jensen · 15^th

Casey Heap · 17^th

Angela Ovard · 19^th

Diane Salisbury · 24^th

Christie Fink · 25^th

Jessica Poulson· 27^th

Kristin Morgan· 29^th

Spotlight: Kim Chournos

Kim Chournos:

Born and raised - Kim was born and raised in Ogden, Utah

What brought you to St. George - Kim and Lanse have always loved St. George, and their family felt ready for a change, so they packed up and moved.

Schooling and career - Kim went to Bonneville High School, then worked at a mortgage company until she had Aspen. She has been a stay at home mom ever since. 

How you met - Lanse and Kim met when they were 19 years old at Defensive Driving. Yes, they are much better driver's now!

Kids (names and ages) - Aspen 16, Alexis 14, Alyssa 14, Sam 9, Burkley 8, Sophie 7

Hobbies and favorites - Kim loves running, shopping, and being with her family. 

Spotlight: Sage Gallagher

Sage Gallagher
Sage was born in Phoenix, AZ, the sixth of 8 kids, but raised mostly in Sunnyvale, CA in the San Francisco Bay area. She did go to part of first and second grades in Provo at Rock Canyon Elementary School. Back in Sunnyvale she danced and played volleyball during high school.
At BYU she studied Humanities with an emphasis in creative writing. She also took dance classes and performed in Dancensemble, a modern dance choreography group. She took painting and photography classes for fun. She got a minor in Spanish after her mission to Lima, Peru.  A year before she graduated (which took a long time since she took so many extra classes) she met her husband, Dave Gallagher, during a clean-up hike in Hobble Creek Canyon.  They dated for about 5 months and married two months later in the Salt Lake Temple.
Sage and Dave have been married for 22 years and have 5 wonderful children. Silas (20) is serving a mission in Long Beach, CA. Noah is 16. Our three daughters are Eden (13), Chloe (6), and Ella (4). Sage has been able to stay home full time with the kids while also assisting Dave on occasion as office manager to various business ventures. Presently Dave runs an online animation school and Sage pitches in with some payroll help. Dave animated at Blue Sky Studios in New York for 11 years before starting his school.
St. George became our destination after another long, cold winter in Brewster, New York. Our extended family lives in Utah Valley so we are closer than we were.  We are excited to experience St. George!
Sage loves to create things. She oil paints when she can, remodeled their NY home, sews things and intends to make more things out of wood someday. She recently certified to teach yoga and enjoys running and exercising with her husband and kids. She and her husband especially love playing volleyball and hope to find other enthusiasts here.
Something unique about Sage is she taught herself to play the cello and played in the local symphony for about five seasons (but don’t ask her to play a solo).